This invention relates to a piston means and rod assembly, and more specifically to an improvement in attaching said piston means to said rod.
There are numerous constructions known in the art for connecting a piston means to a rod. Prior art construction involves the machining of a pull rod from a solid bar whereby the bar size would be reduced in diameter except for the provision of a section of the rod having a larger diameter and functioning as part of the piston means. For example, the initial solid bar size could be 11/2 inches in outer diameter and would be machined to a 1 inch diameter over its entire length of approximately 18 inches with the exception of a portion of the length retained for forming part of the piston means.
Another known construction for connecting a piston and rod is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,048 to V. J. Bloom, Jr., et al. In that prior art patent, a piston and rod assembly are shown wherein the rod has a pair of axially spaced grooves and the piston includes recesses disposed in opposite faces. One of the recesses is radially larger than the other and locking members are disposed in the grooves of the rod and extend into each of the recesses. A further retaining means including a snap ring and an annular ring are disposed outwardly of the locking members in the larger recess for removably retaining the locking members in the recess. In addition, threaded screws may be used to interconnect the retaining ring and the piston. Still another prior art construction is shown by U.S. Pat. No. 2,998,288 to Newhouse in which a sealing element directly encircles a piston rod.